Defining Log Shipping
In SQL Server 2000, log shipping was available only in Developer and Enterprise Editions. Starting with SQL Server 2005, log shipping was made available in Workgroup, Standard, Developer, and Enterprise Editions. Now, in SQL Server 2012, log shipping is available in Enterprise, Standard, Business Intelligence and Web editions. Developer Edition can be used only for development purposes and not for production.
Microsoft provides a simple-to-use Log Shipping Wizard to create a maintenance plan to back up, copy, and restore the transaction log from the primary server to the warm standby server every few minutes. Log shipping has built-in monitoring that makes it easy to maintain and troubleshoot.
Log Shipping normally involves three SQL Servers: a primary server, a warm standby server, and a monitor server, as shown in Figure 26.1.
- The primary server or source server is the main production SQL Server to which clients connect. This server contains the log shipping database. The initial full database backup and subsequent transaction log backups are taken on this server. This server should be a high-quality server with redundant disk drives.
- The warm standby server is the backup SQL Server, otherwise known as the secondary server. If the source server fails, it becomes the primary server. This server should be capable of meeting the minimum performance requirements during a short-term crisis. If your business does not allow any performance degradation, then the ...
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